Jeremy Mayfield missed Thursday's afternoon deadline to enter his car into Saturday night's race at Daytona International Speedway. He still can race if another team gives him a ride, but four team owners who might have considered using Mayfield this weekend have said they aren't interested.

Johnny Benson lost his ride Monday when Red Horse Racing folded his team because it couldn't find sponsorship for the defending Truck Series champion. "This leaves me without a ride, I'd say, and not a lot of time to put something together," Benson said.

Perhaps the most time-tested adage in auto racing is that money buys speed. That's long been reflected in the upper reaches of NASCAR. Last year the four richest teams controlled the 12 spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, a 10-race playoff-style format at the end of the racing season. The price tag for running a championship contender seemed to be at least $20 million.

Kyle Busch held off a hard-charging Mark Martin to win Thursday's second Gatorade Duel after Jeff Gordon found his way back to victory lane in the day's first of two 150-mile races at Daytona International Speedway.

Gillett Evernham Motorsports will lay off about 65 employees in several departments as part of a reduced Nationwide Series program next season. The No. 9 Dodge will run a partial schedule in the second-tier NASCAR series in 2009.